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If you have been working to lose weight for a long time, you know that almost nothing feels as good as realizing you are within the last 10 pounds of your goal. Yet for many, these pounds seem to be the hardest ones to lose — and keep off.

"The last 10 pounds make surprise exits and grand entrances into my life," says Charlene Gonzales, who chalks some of that up to just being a woman with hormones and cycles. "It doesn't bother me too much, because I know they will go away with a little extra effort."

Losing the Final 10 Pounds

"The closer you get to your goal weight, the more difficult things tend to be," says Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian at Houston Northwest Medical Center. "We focus on it a little bit more and we have the belief that it is more difficult to shed the pounds. A lot of times we've been dieting for a while."

Although you may be tempted to throw a little celebration when you arrive at this dieter's milestone, Banes says this is not the time to lie back and snack on bonbons.

"Really scrutinize what you eat — make sure you're not becoming lax on your dietary principles," she advises. This is the moment when stray calories (and pounds!) can sneak back into your diet, so it pays to be detail-oriented. "You have to look at what you eat, but also what you put out. Exercise is key."

Adds Houston-resident Charla Hodges, who lost and kept off those last 10 pounds, "Exercise and water, water, water."

Sticking to the Weight-Loss Program

Here are some tips for staying on track:

Write down what you eat. If you haven't been keeping a food journal to lose weight, this is the perfect time to start. People who write down the details of their diet and exercise habits are twice as successful than those who don't. (Don't forget portions and serving sizes!)

Look for little ways to save calories. Using mustard instead of mayonnaise or sugar-free sweetener instead of a packet of sugar will eventually add up to lost pounds.

Stick to the plate method. Banes advocates the plate method in which one-half of your plate should be vegetables, one-quarter a starch (whole grains preferred), and one-quarter lean protein. If you must go back for a second helping, only take vegetables.

Build exercise into your day. It's great if you can work out for 30 minutes or more, but try adding in more exercise where you can. Park slightly farther away from your destination to get more walking in; take the stairs instead of the elevator.

When you reach your weight-loss goal, you will want to celebrate, but Banes cautions that you must still be careful about how you do that. The last 10 pounds will come off if you work at it, and you will see that goal weight on the scale. But giving up your diet entirely will surely push up those pounds again. You now need to move into a new phase: learning how to maintain the healthy weight you worked so hard to achieve.

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